Deferred retirement annuity

Q. I was born in 1952. I began working for the federal government in 1977 under CSRS, transferred to FERS in 1988, and resigned from federal employment in 2001. I expect to apply for a deferred retirement annuity. Will my deferred annuity be greater if it begins when I am age 62 (in 2014), rather than when I am age 60 (in 2012)?

A. It makes no difference. Since your deferred annuity will be computed as if you had retired on the day you left government, you might as well apply at the earliest possible date. Since you had a combined total of at least 20 years of service, that would be two months before you reach age 60.